Here’s how you can evolve, train, and strengthen your Pokémon in Pokemon GO.
To improve one of your Pokémon in Pokemon GO, there are now Stardust and Candy, following the leveling system known from earlier parts of the series. With these items, which you obtain in the game, you can make your Pokémon stronger to prepare them for the next gym battle.
German release of Pokemon GO postponed
How to get Candy and Stardust?
To obtain Candy and Stardust in Pokemon GO, you need to catch wild Pokémon that are waiting for you in tall grass, for example. With each Pokémon you catch, you receive both Stardust and special Candy for that specific Pokémon. So if you catch a Charmander, in addition to the Pokémon and the Pokédex entry, you’ll also receive Charmander Candy, which you can use to evolve your Charmander.
Stardust is not specific to a particular Pokémon species, but can be used on all Pokémon. This dust is sometimes included in the “Defender Bonus” reward when you successfully defend a gym. You also have a chance of receiving PokéCoins, which you can use to buy more important items for your Pokemon GO adventure.
This is how you can get Pikachu as a starter Pokémon
Giving Candy and Stardust to a Pokémon
When you give Candy or Stardust to one of your little companions, you permanently increase their power points (HP) and battle points (CP).
- While you are on the map screen, open the main menu.
- Select a Pokémon from the Pokédex list whose values you want to improve.
- The Pokémon information page shows you how many Candy or Stardust are needed for an upgrade.
You need a lot of Candy for a Pokémon that you want to improve, which is why you should definitely catch several of the same kind. If you want a Rattata to always be at the forefront and fight for you, you should catch several wild Rattata to get more Candy to enhance its stats. If you want to catch wild Pokémon with ease, you can also directly transfer them to Professor Willow – as a reward, you’ll then receive the Candy again from him.
How long you should save up Stardust to use it effectively is explained here!
Evolving Pokémon
The various Pokémon have different evolution stages, at which they evolve into another creature. Some have none, others have 2, and Pokémon like Squirtle even have 3 evolution stages. If you want to evolve a Squirtle into Wartortle and then into Blastoise, you need a lot of Candy of that type needed for the respective evolutions. By evolving, the CP and HP of your Pokémon are increased.
The higher the CP and HP values are, the greater your chances are of winning a gym battle. So to quickly upgrade your Pokémon, you need many Candy and Stardust. You can obtain these items fastest by catching many wild Pokémon of the same type (like the Pokémon you want to strengthen). If you strengthen a Pokémon only when it has reached its highest evolution level, the maximum number of CP and HP can potentially be higher.
When it’s worth evolving a Pokémon, we explain in our Power Up or Evolve Guide.
More tips for a successful Pokémon trainer career can be found in our Pokemon GO Trainer Guide!
